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Notre Dame Football: Top Three Plays of the 2018 Season

By Connor McJunkin

SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 13: Miles Boykin #81 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish catches a touchdown pass against Dane Jackson #11 of the Pittsburgh Panthers to take the lead in the second half at Notre Dame Stadium on October 13, 2018 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 13: Miles Boykin #81 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish catches a touchdown pass against Dane Jackson #11 of the Pittsburgh Panthers to take the lead in the second half at Notre Dame Stadium on October 13, 2018 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images) /
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No. 1. Game-Winning Touchdown Pass from Book to Boykin vs Pittsburgh

C’mon, was there any doubt what the No. 1 play would be? I think you can make a pretty strong argument for a lot of plays at the No. 2 and 3 spots, but this play proved to be one of the biggest of the 2018 season.

After the offensive explosion that occurred when Ian Book took control of the offense in week four, the Pittsburgh content was the first time the new-look offense struggled to find its rhythm all game. The Panthers were shutting down the run, confusing Book in coverage, forcing turnovers, and keeping the Irish out of the endzone. As the clock ticked away, the trap game seemed more and more inevitable and the perfect season was quickly fading away.

Luckily, the Book to Boykin connection was still alive. With just under six minutes to go, Ian Book dropped back on a play-action pass and quickly scanned the field before stepping up and launching a pass downfield.

Now, if there has been one main criticism of Book this season, it would be his deep ball accuracy.  Combine that with the fact that the Irish offense had struggled all game with big plays down the field, and that long windup from Book instantly made you stand up in anxiousness hoping for something to happen.

Luckily, wide receiver Miles Boykin got behind the safety and had a good step on his defender as he hauled in the perfectly thrown 35-yard touchdown pass to give the Irish a 19-14 lead. The play gave Notre Dame their first lead of the game, one they would not give up as they moved to 7-0 heading into their bye week.

Next. Irish No. 3 in College Football Playoff. dark

Honorable Mentions:

  1. Dexter Williams 97-yard touchdown run vs Virginia Tech
  2. Jerry Tillery forced fumble, Te’von Coney recovery to seal the Michigan win
  3. Alohi Gilman forced fumble at the 1-yard line vs Vanderbilt
  4. Alize Mack toe-tap touchdown vs FSU
  5. Ian Book 3rd & 11 conversion down 10-0 vs USC
  6. Ian Book game-winning touchdown run vs Northwestern
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